Wil Wheaton Talks Playing Himself On Wedding Season Finale ‘Big Bang Theory’

Tonight’s season 11 finale of “The Big Bang Theory” has been a long time coming, with fans finally getting a chance to see Amy and Sheldon tie the knot. CBS Local spoke to “Big Bang” guest star and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” alum Wil Wheaton about what we can expect on tonight’s wedding, what it’s like playing himself on the show, and how it felt to share the screen with a top roster of iconic guests, including Academy Award winner Kathy Bates, Star Wars legend Mark Hamill, and Academy Award nominee Laurie Metcalf.

Tonight’s the big season finale of “The Big Bang Theory.” This wedding has been a long time coming for Amy and Sheldon. Does everything go according to plan?

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will tell you that everything does not go exactly the way you expect it to go. But I think it will be very satisfying for everyone who’s watching.

You’ve guest starred on “Big Bang Theory” 16 times, but obviously tonight’s episode is extra special because it’s the wedding. What can we expect from Wil tonight?

He’s really excited to be part of the wedding. It’s one of the very few times that the Wil Wheaton who I am in real life and the Wil Wheaton who I play on “Big Bang Theory” really overlap into almost a perfect circle.

What does it feel like playing yourself?

It took me a long time to get used to playing a version of myself. I had a great conversation with Mark Hamill about this, because Mark is playing a version of himself as well. He was saying, it’s hard to wrap your head around playing a version of yourself because you almost feel like, I am giving my actual real-life endorsement to the things that the character version of is saying and doing, and that might not necessarily be the case. I got to tell him, you just sort of commit to the fun of the fiction of it all, that this isn’t actually who we are in real life. What I didn’t tell him is that it took me almost 8 years of playing Wil Wheaton on “The Big Bang Theory” to get to that point, where I’m playing a character who just so happens to have the same name as me and much of my biography.

Speaking of Mark Hamill, you’re in great company tonight. There’s other guests like Kathy Bates, Teller, and a lot lot more. What’s it like sharing the screen with such an incredible cast?

We were all so geeked out to be on the set with Mark Hamill, who is a living legend, and Kathy Bates, who is an Academy Award winner, and Laurie Metcalf, who is an Academy Award nominee. It was so exciting to be there with all these amazing people. The thing that I didn’t expect, and I’m so glad I didn’t take for granted, is that everybody was really excited to be there with us. I think it’s a really special episode, the script is really good, it’s got this great balance of humor and warmth in it. But just to be there on the set with these phenomenally talented actors and comedians was one of those “I can’t believe I’m really getting to do this” moments that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.

The 11th season finale of “Big Bang Theory” airs tonight at 8/7c on CBS. Check local listings for more information.